The embodiments described herein generally relate to musical instruments and in particular to tuning string instruments.
When each string on a string instrument is tuned to a certain reference pitch, the instrument is considered to be in tune. A tuned instrument allows a person to create enjoyable music. However, over time the strings will drift away from producing their respective reference pitch. This is referred to as the instrument becoming out of tune. Some factors that contribute to the instrument becoming out of tune are the material and age of the strings, changes in temperature, the way the instrument is played, and the material and design of the instrument.
Manually tuning an instrument each time it becomes out of tune is time consuming and an unpleasant experience. Current systems exist that detect when an instrument is out of tune and automatically tune the instrument by using a mechanical apparatus to adjust the individual strings of the instrument. Some drawbacks of these systems are that they are expensive, bulky, add weight to the instrument, are limited to small pitch changes, and are not compatible with many different types of string instruments. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved system for tuning string instruments.